Concrete wall with plug



July 2,1968 H.IF.ROY ET AL 3,390,498

CONCRETE WALL WITH PLUG Fileddune 2, 1965 WVEOOOIE L. Ma/V ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,390,498 CONCRETE WALL WITH PLUG Hubert F. Roy, Pawtucket, R.I., andTheodore L. Gagnon,

Seekonk, Mass., assignors to Magco Plastics Inc., Provideuce, R.I., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed June 2, 1965, Ser. No. 460,713 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-302) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plug of a suitable plastic material such as polyethylene of a size and shape to be inserted into a hole in a concrete foundation wall formed by the tie rod use for connecting the spaced sides of the forms together during the initial formation of the wall and after removal of the forms and the tie rod, which plug is preferably wedgeshaped to fit tightly in the hole and provided with surrounding ribs thereon anchored to the sides of the hole.

This invention relates to improvements in building foundations and, more particularly, to the sealing of the openings in concrete building foundations as' a result of removal of reinforcing rods therefrom.

Building foundations are often constructed from poured concrete which is filled between spaced forms. The spaced forms usually are connected together by rods extending therebetween to hold the forms in proper positions and properly spaced apart when the concrete is poured therebetween. This makes it necessary, however, to withdraw the rods after the concrete has been partially or fully set. The removal of the rods leaves holes through the concrete foundation. It has been the practice heretofore to fill these holes with cement, but this is difficult and costly. It is often not completely satisfactory because of the lack of full adhesion between the filling cement and the concrete of the foundation wall.

One object of this invention is to provide for the sealing of the hole formed by the connecting rod through a concrete wall after removal of the rod, in a simple and effective manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive, easily applied and completely effective plug which can be inserted into the hole formed in a concrete wall after removal of the tie rod therefrom and which will serve effectively to seal the hole against leakage through the wall.

These objects may be accomplished, according to one embodiment of the invention, by providing a plug which can be inserted into the hole and which is initially somewhat enlarged relative to the normal size of the hole, but may be forced therein to conform to the size and shape thereof and to seal the hole effectively, after removal of the tie rod therefrom. It is preferred that the plug be formed of wedge-shape, that it be made of polyethylene or other suitable plastic material so as not to deteriorate in use and nevertheless will have sufficient expensive properties that it will conform to the size and shape of the hole. It is preferred that the-surrounding sides of the plug be made with ribs to adhere securely to the sides of the hole and at the same time to aid in sealing the latter against leakage therethrough.

This embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a concrete wall showing an illustration of the application of the plugs thereto;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a portion of the wall on the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the plugs removed; and

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FIG. 4 is a side elevation thereof in edge view.

The invention is shown in connection with a concrete Wall, generally indicated by the numeral 1, and which may form the foundation of a building construction. The concrete of the wall 1 is poured between spaced forms, generally indicated at 2, which are connected together initially by tie rods 3 confined on the outer sides of the forms by wedges 4, in this form of the invention. Any suitable or desired number of tie rods 3 may be used to connect together the forms 2 and to hold these in place during the pouring of the cement. In the form illustrated these tie rods are fiat in the shape of strips of steel and are held in place by transverse wedges 4, but any other or desired form of tie rodsmay be used and the invention will be applicable thereto.

After the cement has been poured between the forms 2 and has been initially set, the customary practice has involved the separation and removal of the forms. This requires the withdrawal of the tie rods 3 from the foundation wall. The tie rods are pulled out of the cement wall, thus leaving holes in the wall, generally as indicated at 5 at the right-hand side of FIG. 1.

In order to prevent leakage through the hole 5, we have provided plugs, generally indicated at 6, of a size somewhat larger in cross section than the cross section of the tie rod 3 and preferably made of a suitable somewhat yieldable plastic or synthetic resin material such, for example, as polyethylene. This has the property of allowing the plug to be forced into the hole and to be compressed thereby, as well as to conform to irregularities due to the molding of the cement. Each plug 6 will be made so as to be somewhat oversize but capable of being forced fully into the end of the hole 5 so as to fill the hole fully in the manner illustrated at the right in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 2.

The plug 6 is wedge-shaped in longitudinal section, as will be apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, and has circumferential ribs, generally indicated at 7, to anchor the plug in place and also tending to prevent water from seeping into the hole.

In molding a concrete wall, such as a foundation wall, the concrete is poured between the forms 2 around the tie rods 3. After the initial setting of the concrete, the forms are removed, as indicated at the right in FIG. 1. The removal of the forms involves the withdrawal of the .ie rods 3 from the concrete Wall 1, thus leaving the holes 5 therethrough as described above. This operation is usually performed before the concrete is fully set. Some further drying occurs thereafter. However, the plugs 6 can be driven into opposite ends of each hole 5 promptly upon removal of the forms because they will conform not only to the initial size and shape of the hole, but when further contraction of the concrete occurs in the continued setting of the material, these plugs will expand to maintain the sealing relation thereof. They are not subject to deterioration in use, but continually maintain the sealing effect over a long period of time.

If breakage around the ends of the holes should occur due to removal of the rods or further waterproofing be desired, a small amount of waterproofing compound can be applied over the wall surface externally of the plugs and the ends of the holes to maintain this sealing effect.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in one embodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.

We claim:

1. A concrete foundation wall having a hole therethrough resulting from the withdrawal of a tie rod during the molding of the wall, the combination therewith, of a plug having a wedge-shaped body portion initially larger in size and shape than the size and shape of the hole and having surrounding ribs thereon anchored to the sides of the hole, said plug being forced under pressure into the hole in sealing relation therewith, said body portion being formed of polyethylene material capable of expansion after further setting of the concrete to maintain the sealing effect therewith.

2. A concrete wall having a hole therein,'the combination therewith, of a plug, initially larger in size and shape than the hole and forceable under pressure into the hole, in sealing relation therewith, having a wedge-shaped body portion, and having a plurality of surrounding ribs thereon between the ends of said body portion and anchored to the sides of the hole, said ribs being of decreasing overall plug thickness, said plug being formed of yieldable synthetic resin material capable of expansion after further setting of the concrete to maintain the sealing elTect therewith.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,168,798 2/1965 Berg 52-364 1,730,533 10/1929 Rose 249-38 X 1,743,492 1/1930 Sipe 52586 X 2,728,127 12/1955 Armstrong 249215 2,948,045 8/1960 Imonetti 249-214 3,181,832 5/1965 Chianese 249--43 3,108,443 10/1963 Schuermann 52309 X 3,276,334 10/1966 Rhodes 94-18 JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner. 

